ekrauss wrote:Baseball coaching change is being announced on official Pilots website. Thoughts on this?

Coach Sperry is a wonderful guy and mentor, but AD Leykam was hired to win games and raise the profile of athletics at UP. As Coach Sperry's teams lost twice as many WCC games as they won in Sperry's 18 seasons, the decision was probably not too difficult given the amount of money put into the program and new field.

Sperry ... was 347-601-1 overall and 154-310-1 in West Coast Conference play. The Pilots finished the 2015 season 12-42 overall and 7-20 in the WCC.

I think that answer is right there... and the trend was not toward improvement.

The announcement is a bit odd, and we do not know the situation, nature of coversations, expectations, etc.

With the renewed investment in the program facilities-wise, this is not too surprising. It would appear time for the program to move in a new direction. I wish the best to Sperry and thank him for his years of dedication to the U. I also look forward to some new life being injected into the program.

I hope to one day attend a NCAA regional playoff at the new baseball facility!

Hmm, did anyone else notice that former MLB player and Linfield College coach Scott Brosius stepped down at Linfield yesterday?

Brosius was one of my favorite players during his years with the A's and Yankees, and had a VERY successful 8 year career as coach of the Linfield Wildcats.

Possibly far-fetched to think he's leaving his alma-mater to coach on the Bluff, but IMO he would be exactly the successful, high-profile coach the Pilots need to lead them into the future on the new field and facilities.

Brosius is quoted as saying, "I've come to realize there is never a good time to step away, but only what I feel is the right time. With our three children now graduated, my wife Jennifer and I felt the timing is right to begin our next adventure."

The door is open, let's hope that AD Scott Leykam and successful player and coach, Scott Brosius, are having a discussion about the future of baseball on the Bluff. If Brosius is seeking a new baseball coaching challenge, UP should be ideal situation.

I too find it interesting.... I wonder if he's going back to MLB though - the Linfield press release has this blurb in it...

“Scott Brosius is not only a great baseball coach, he's also a great human being,” Hellie said. “We are very fortunate that he has worked at Linfield for more than a decade and will always be grateful for how he's changed the lives of our students, faculty, staff and alumni. We are proud that he graduated from Linfield and know that even as he looks to re-enter a career in the Major Leagues, he will remain a Wildcat in his heart.”

I've heard enough chatter to believe UP has at least checked in with Brosius. However, I'll believe he takes the job when he sees it. Considering his kids are all graduated. two guys with far less coaching experience just landing major league managing gigs and MLB could pay far better than UP (at least you would think) I have to believe he's looking for a big league job.

Regardless of whether or not he is interested in UP, I know there are some other folks with pretty solid credentials who are interested in the UP job.

Maybe we hear more today or this week. One of the blogs I follow last night posted that Brosius was still "the word". Then again, McMinneville paper has a little post under their article on his resignation saying his son who just graduated is going to OSU and that he might be pursuing something there -- couple that with the rumor that OSU Coach might be interested in replacing recently leaving OSU AD.... Supposedly Brosius also paid a bunch for Linneville's turf field and lights... Money may not be a driving factor. But in our AD we trust -- he definitely is doing good things for UP.

There's a lot brewing now in other places too -- Arizona, Baylor, Northwestern, Western Kentucky, and James Madison... There will be ripple effects from those jobs. But the good thing for UP is that not much else has opened up yet -- either on the west coast or in D1... That's gotta work to our advantage.